Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has told fans to forget about the colossal £75m they will pay for Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk this January and instead focus on his quality on the pitch.

The Reds announced that they had finally got their man yesterday after they agreed to sign him on January 1 for a world record fee for a defender, bringing what seemed like a never-ending transfer saga to its conclusion.

Liverpool Football Club can confirm they have reached an agreement with Southampton for the transfer of Virgil van Dijk.

When Sky Sports asked Klopp what the Dutch defender will bring to his defensively lapsed side, he said: "Quality. That's why we got him, that's why we were interested in him. It's quite difficult at the moment because technically he's still a Southampton player.

"We don't make the prices, the market does. Liverpool supporters should forget about the price. We only talk about the player and what he can bring in; the quality, the mentality, the character. That is why we are really happy about it."

Van Dijk handed in a transfer request in the summer to try and force through a move to Liverpool, which resulted in Southampton reporting the Reds to the Premier League for tapping him up and the player himself being banished to the reserves by Mauricio Pellegrino at the start of this current season.

Despite a lack of game time and not quite looking like the dominating force he once did after recovering from a long-term knee injury, Klopp backed the defender to be a great success at Anfield.

"Virgil hasn't had the best first half to the season at Southampton. He was out injured for a long time and we all know about the things that happened last summer.

"He's a tall player - they always need a little bit longer especially after being out for around nine months - but that's no problem. We already have quality here in that position so we don't have to rush anything.

"He needs to adapt to our style of play. It's a completely different game, but we are 100 per cent sure he will do it."

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